An Exclusive Interview with the Director of ‘Alice’ Josephine MacKerras

Just Celebrity Magazine had the absolute pleasure of talking to Josephine Mackerras, the director behind the sensational film Alice which will be screening at the SXSW Film Festival. We had a chance to talk to her about Alice, asking her about the inspiration of the film, any obstacles she faced whilst making this film and the chemistry between the cast members.

Hi Josephine, how are you doing?

Great, thank you!

Congratulations with “Alice”! Must be a great feeling knowing that the film will have its world premiere soon and especially at the SXSW festival?

It’s amazing! I feel so honored!

It’s a very emotional and touching story. Where did the inspiration come from?

I’ve always been fascinated with double standards in our culture, particularity with regard to gender identity. I also have a lot of questions around romantic relationships, especially the line between need and love.

I guess I feel there is such a contrast between what our culture imposes on us versus the reality of who we are. The story dances around those ideas.

At the beginning of the film, it’s mostly about Alice and her family and that relationship, when the story develops more, it focusses more on the friendship between Alice and Lisa. The chemistry between the cast is amazing. How did the cast come together?

Yes, the friendship with Lisa changes everything for Alice. Lisa holds a space filled with possibilities for Alice. It’s the first time Alice has really experienced true friendship.

From the first casting I did with Emilie and Chloe the chemistry was perfect. Emilie and I knew immediately that we had found our Lisa!

All the French actors I found through the wonderful Elise Mcleod, our casting agent. She is also an acting coach and director in Paris, she really helped me find talented, interesting actors. I met The the non-French actors I met independently over the years.

“Alice” is also your first full-length feature film. What was the main difference between shooting a full-length feature film and a short film?

The same difference as a walk in the park and doing 10 marathons! A feature is years and years longer. On every level, there’s no comparing them, for me.

Were there any obstacles you came across while making this film?

I wouldn’t know how to reduce the challenges I faced to just a few. The obstacles were constant. I think that’s what guerrilla film-making is really all about; obstacles and how to overcome them.

Describe your film Alice in one word.

Metamorphosis.

What are your upcoming projects?

I have a couple of projects in the works. There are so many themes and ideas I’d love to explore through film, but I think I will always come back to trying to navigate the frontline between our inner world and outer world experiences.